marketing

Three key elements of a successful brand video

In the digital generation, we all know that images are more impressionable than words and can clearly communicate brand philosophies in just a few minutes. Connecting with your target customers is the first step in successfully establishing a brand! Nowadays, more and more small-scale entrepreneurs use Facebook as their main sales platform. FB has targeted this need and launched the “Your business story” function earlier this year. You only need to add a few pictures and key in your brand philosophies to create a dynamic video for your brand.

So, everyone can film a video now (yes, even with your iPhone!) But how do you make a good brand video? We believe there are three key elements!

01

Who you are? (brand concept= video theme)

That’s right! Finding out “who you are” is much much much more important than you thought! (We emphasize this because it is essential!) It refers to a brand’s “core value” and the corporate concept it wants to communicate. It can often be condensed into a paragraph, a slogan, or even a word. People can feel a connection when they understand a brand’s philosophies (Why) and execution methods (How). Just like NIKE’s slogan “Just Do It” actually means “nothing is impossible.” So a brand’s different marketing themes in different periods will still be centered on this spirit. Think about whether a certain phrase can represent your brand philosophies. If there is, try to write it down and consider if there are ways or steps to implement this concept. If you are still worrying about how to determine a core value, slow down and take a look at the below steps!

02

DNA (Brand value = Story)

People are easily attracted to “authentic” stories, so if your brand is selling products, you can try to film your products in the raw materials stage or the production process. If you are a company that sells knowledge services, you can film the creative and cooperation process. This allows consumers to participate in your progression through the images, so they unconsciously feel more intimacy with your products compared to the same products by other brands and choose to buy your products. Furthermore, you need a clear storyline! Usually a video is made up of a series of smaller stories to make it more exciting, and these stories are determined by your “Brand DNA.” For example, even though Din Tai Feng and Starbucks both have the brand philosophy of “Focus on Service,” their videos would still be extremely different.

Din Tai Feng’s “service” focuses on extreme “attention to detail” and implementing the standard of “customers first.” I heard that once when a customer accidentally got soy sauce on his shirt, the waiter immediately brought professional cleaning tools out to clean the stain. Starbucks’ “service” focuses on “enthusiasm,” "kindness,’ and "teamwork.” So, your story will start to unfold after you come up with a few key words in your DNA; you can establish a theme (brand concept) for your video and describe it with a phrase that is easy to remember!

03

Tone & Manner (Brand attitude＝Video tonality)

Even if you are done with the above two steps, it still does not mean you will be able to film a good video. Because, although not everyone is a designer, everyone has different aesthetics and will feel entirely different about different images! Thus, discussing references is an extremely important step. The below points are recommendations for finding good reference data:

- The stories and timeline\

Editing and transitions\
Lighting and colors

Discuss the details in the various reference films with your team and partners and then apply them in your script. This in-depth communication can help reduce the costs of production and modifications later on. Finally, the last element is time management! Prepare all the corresponding space, personnel, and props to allow the shooting to go as smooth as possible, and don’t have too many people participate in the cutting and editing to avoid too many cooks spoiling the broth. When the video is near completion, you can decide whether or not you need subtitles. We recommend you using fewer subtitles and allow the images to tell your story. Always remember, people’s brains need more time to process text, but visual images can be directly identified and remembered!

Back to insights

More we thought

marketing

How to strengthen brand loyalty by content marketing?

“Content is King” - Bill Gates, 1996 The power of content marketing can be hardly ignored since the consumers are looking for something more than benefits. They want a personal connection, even with the products. And thanks to the technology everyone can be a content creator, which, on the other hand, means it is more difficult for your content to stand out from the crowds. To transfer your creativity into cash, you should have a fundamental understanding about your target audience (TA) and brand positioning. Here are three steps to guide you through. - What is content marketing? Unlike the traditional marketing which focusing on product benefits, content marketing satisfies consumers’ need for information. Good content provides the right information to the right TA in a natural way. By yield useful knowledge, you can win your TA’s attention, trust, following and purchase intention. The most valuable feature of content marketing is that it lasts for almost forever (as long as internet exists). An online article or post of high quality may be shared for hundreds of thousands time. The long-term and sustainable effectiveness of content marketing can be hardly underestimated.